June is LGBT Pride Month here in the States. There are parades and events in every major city and many smaller ones. Pride is one of the reasons the JTMF has our gala in June.

As someone who came of age in 1970's (I keep telling you that I'm old), I am pleased and surprised that we've finally started to reach a place in the U.S. that I honestly never thought I'd see in my lifetime. There are gay characters on television who aren't just there as jokes; support for LGBT rights are at all-time high and our President has officially voiced his support of same-sex marriage. In fact, every straight person I know supports Marriage Equality (and I know a lot of straight people).

That's not to say we don't still have a long way to go. Right-wing, conservative Evangelicals keep using antiquated passages from the Old Testament to spout hate and discrimination; three year-olds are taught songs about hating 'homos;' so-called 'Men of God' espouse violence against gay people; the Catholic Church continues to cover-up pedophilia amongst its priests while preaching anti-gay rhetoric and 'One Million Moms' promote boycotts against gay-friendly businesses like J.C. Penny and DC Comics. Anti-gay hate groups like Focus on the Family and NOM continue to cite discredited junk science and recanted studies in an effort to deny LGBT people basic human rights and don't even get me started on the loons at Westboro Baptist Church. Repugnican politicians promote hate and the (probably gay) husband of a former Presidential candidate still practices "reparative therapy," a pseudo-science rejected by every legitimate medical and psychological organization in the country. It truly and deeply saddens me that so many people still live in fear and ignorance in the 21st Century.

But that's not what this post is really about. It's about how far we have come in making our voices heard, teaching people that we are not to be feared and letting the world know that we will not be marginalized or forced back into the closets from which we have fought so hard to break free. 43 years after the infamous Stonewall Riots of 1969, Lesbian; Gay; Bisexual; Transgendered and Questioning people are finally starting to be recognized as real human beings, rather than second-class citizens and I actually have hope that I will live to see true Equality in this country in my lifetime. And that's a very good thing.

At the risk of repeating myself, here are some of my favorite gay flash-mobs, music videos and movie trailers:

We're here! We're Queer! Get over it! Someday, we won't need to chant that anymore...

I know I have readers from all over the world (I see your hits on that spinning globe to your left). If you live in a country (like Canada) that has embraced LGBTQ people as equals, you are a step ahead of U.S. on the evolutionary scale. If you live in a country where being gay is still a criminal offense, my heart goes out to you. If you live in the U.S. I urge you to write, email and/or visit your local representatives to demand the equality promised to all Americans by our Constitution. We may not be there yet, but the louder our voices, the more we'll be heard.We will get there. And soon.

OK - I'm off my high-horse again. Now go out and celebrate Pride Month. I know I will.